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Philip West is an Associate Professor and Tutorial Fellow at Somerville College, University of Oxford, specializing in early seventeenth-century poetry and devotional writing. His research interests encompass the works of poets influenced by Henry Vaughan—such as George Herbert and Ben Jonson—and he is currently focused on the writings of James Shirley. He has published a critical edition of Shirley’s poems, set to appear in the forthcoming volume 'Shirley’s Complete Works.' In addition to his work on Shirley, West has contributed to editing the volume 'John Donne’s Sermons Preached to the Nobility and Gentry.' With a commitment to graduate teaching, he encourages students to inquire about Jacobean and Caroline literary culture, and offers courses such as 'Early Modern Hands' which explore reading secretary hands in manuscripts. West teaches English literature from the mid-sixteenth to the mid-eighteenth century, alongside components in language studies, delivering lectures on influential poets and topics within devotional poetry and rhetoric.
Department of Politics and International Relations - Higher Level English requirement.